Love, Jealousy & SCANDAL

THE ACTRESS' HUSBAND SHOT HER LOVER IN A SENSATIONAL EPISODE THAT NEARLY ENDED HER CAREER

- Louise A. Barile

Actress Joan Bennett was sitting behind the wheel of her green Cadillac in the parking lot of a Beverly Hills office building when two gunshots rang out. Her handsome agent, Jennings Lang, who had just walked her to the car, dropped to the ground screaming in agony. "Get away from here and leave us alone," she shouted when she recognized the gunman as her husband, producer Walter Wanger.

Until the 1951 shooting, Joan and Walter had been a Hollywood power couple. "They did a succession of films together that Walter produced and Joan starred in," explains Scott Huver, author of Beverly Hills Noir: Crime, Sin, & Scandal in 90210. "On the surface, they had a very happy home life. They had two kids and a beautiful home in Holmby Hills." The couple entertained often, hosting dinners for friends and neighbors, including Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.